Hosted by
Co-founder
Riverside Bank
David Cleveland, long recognized as one of Minnesota's strongest supporters of entrepreneurship, retired in 2001 as the President and Chairman of the Associated Bank of Minnesota, where during his banking career he advised 21 banks in the formation of new bank charters and branch applications. His interest in entrepreneurship began in 1973 when he founded the Riverside Bank, which came to be regarded as the bank for small businesses.
He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Sioux Falls; the Advisory Board for Minnesota Business Magazine; and the University of Minnesota Athletic Department. He also serves as Director of Minnesota Investment Network, and Schroeder Milk Company.
When asked the question of "Why support the Minnesota Cup ", Dave Cleveland responded :
"You know, people have asked over the years why Carolyn and I really got involved into what is now the business plan competition, now it's grown to something much more. It's pretty easy to explain that. We really believe that much of the success of Riverside bank was because of our work with entrepreneurs. We did feel that the businesses plans themselves were inadequate often, and so we endowed this foundation with monies that would be given to people who would work on business plans to improve their chances of success. So that's how it all started. I really described it many times as "this is payback," this is payback time for what we gained through Riverside bank because of the entrepreneurs, because of the people at the university, because of the people at the Carlson School. So that's why we did it initially. And I'm really pleased to see that it's developed into this new idea, this new concept. It's going to be exciting for the people of the state of Minnesota."
